


Tangled Up (In Your Love)

by Maya_Di_Angelo



Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tangled (2010) Fusion, Banter, Dorks in Love, Fluff, For cas - Freeform, Fuck Norman Osborn, He is also a creep, I think Johnny Storm and Felicia Hardy should be included as characters but er..., Idiots in Love, Just to be safe, Multi, Norman Osborn's A+ parenting, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tangled AU, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, i hope that’s the right tag, idk - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:40:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25286977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maya_Di_Angelo/pseuds/Maya_Di_Angelo
Summary: Tangled AU because Cas wanted one.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Harry Osborn, Harley Keener/Harry Osborn, Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Harley Keener/Peter Parker/Harry Osborn, Harry Osborn/Peter Parker
Comments: 52
Kudos: 82





	1. Scene 1 (Because I’m Boring AF)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [censored](https://archiveofourown.org/users/censored/gifts).



> For Cassie Bear 💚
> 
> P.S: Don’t kill me.

“You’ve got to be shitting me!”

It’s nice to know that even when everything went up in flames, there’d be a horse chasing you with a murderous gleam in its eyes. 

Harley ducked, avoiding a rather vicious looking tree branch and looked over to see the horse still relentless in its chase. 

Beside him, his grey-eyed partner, Harry, let out a breathless laugh. 

“Language!” The boy got out, a grin threatening to split his face in half.

“I’ll give you language,” the blonde muttered and cursed again when he noticed that the palace horse that had been chasing them for hours was rapidly gaining momentum.

“That doesn’t even make any sense!” Harry yelled, leaping over a fallen moss-covered tree as if he was an expert gymnast… or an expert thief.

“It doesn’t matter if we get caught!” The blonde yelled back before letting out a scream of shock.

Harry stuttered to a stop and turned around, adrenaline rushing through his body and mind racing wild with plans. 

“Oh you’ve got to be shitting me,” the grey-eyed boy sighed at the weird scene taking place in front of him. 

“Language,” came the reply and Harry snorted.

The horse’s frankly terrifying teeth were around the edge of their satchel, and it’s tail swished wildly and stood strong like a bull in an arena. His friend, on the other hand, was sprawled at the feet of the horse, his hands thankfully still clutching a part of their satchel.

Right then, Harley felt a tug on the satchel and looked over to see the horse neighing angrily around the bit of satchel in its mouth, as it attempted to pull it away from his grasp.

“Oh no you don’t,” the blonde pulled back the satchel violently, his breath coming out in heavy pants. “Let go, horse.”

Everything slowed down for a moment, the chirping of birds and the rustling of the leaves ceased to exist. Azure eyes widened with horror and a high pitched neigh sounded through the air. 

Harry pitched himself forward as their satchel flew open and a delicate golden crown slipped down the edge of the precipice. 

Slender fingers wrapped around the metal and Harry fell to the ground with a thud. He saw his partner sigh in relief and cracked a small grin that faded as soon as it came when he felt the ground shudder. 

The horse snorted, shaking its mane threateningly and stepped forward towards Harry. 

“No-”

The ground beneath him cracked apart. Harry shot the blonde a frantic look and tried to scramble to his feet. 

The next second was a blur, all Harry remembered was a pair of arms wrapping around him and the cold air rushing past his ears. 

He closed his eyes and clung onto his partner.


	2. Scene 2 (Where They Are Dumbasses)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday Cassandra

Harry breathed heavily, heart thudding furiously against his ribcage and Harley’s hand pressing against his mouth as they pressed close to the tunnel wall, hoping against all odds that the horse wouldn’t find them.

The satchel hung loosely on his elbow, the crown somehow safe and intact despite the struggle. 

They stared through the vines that hid the tunnel they were hiding in, trying to see whether the horse had gone. 

After a few minutes, the blonde slowly lowered his hand from Harry’s mouth and they both stood still as statues for another minute.

“She’s…” Harley swallowed and rested his forehead on the wall next to Harry’s face. “She’s gone. I think.”

“That's the best we could hope for,” the shorter boy nodded slumping against the rocky wall with a sigh of relief.

  
  


~

“That’s…” Harley trailed off, the acute incredulity in his voice summing up what they were seeing perfectly. “You’re seeing this too right?”

“If you’re seeing a bloody tower in the middle of nowhere?” Harry wondered, chest rising and falling heavily now that the adrenaline has worn off. “Yep.”

“How often do we get something like this?” The blonde laughed pushing back his hair. “C’mon, we can stay the night here!”

A smile stretched Harry’s lips and he shook his head fondly before scouring the tower for an entrance besides the window at the top.

However, after several minutes the excitement that had kindled in the pits of their stomach dwindled when their search had led to the conclusion that there was no accessible entrance.

“What do we do now?” Harry asked letting his body collapse against the grass covered ground.

“I don’t-” the blonde turned to look at him and suddenly stopped talking. Some sort of realization bloomed in Harley’s eyes and he scampered towards the laying boy.

“You don’t what?” Harry prodded intrigued by his partner’s odd reaction (one that wasn’t really that odd because it was Harley they were talking about).

Harley snatched their satchel and riffled through it before sagging.

“We are idiots,” he declared, taking out an arrow-like object and a rope. 

It was Harley’s new invention. A tool that worked both as a weapon and as a contraption to help them get to high places. A useful thing to have when you are wanted thieves. 

“Yep,” Harry agreed with exasperation settling in his bones. “We are.” 

~

Harley tugged at the rope and when the arrowhead didn’t come tumbling out of the tower window, a crow of victory left his lips and he shot this friend an excited look.

“I’ll go first?” the blonde cocked his head, fingers wrapped around the rope. 

“Sure,” shrugged the strawberry haired boy easily and chucked the satchel at Harley. “It’s not like you’d let me climb first anyway.”

A frown tugged the other’s brows down and Harley paused.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The indignation and bemusement the blonde was feeling expressed themselves through his voice. 

Harry rolled his eyes and shoved Harley lightly and motioned him to climb.

“You’re an overprotective arse is what it means,” the boy drawled, lips twitching in the beginning of a smile.

Harley opened his mouth affronted before pausing, a contemplative look dawning on his face.

“Well,” he shrugged and began climbing the tower. “Fair.”


	3. Scene 3 (KABOOM!)

“I’m in-” 

_ BAM! _

Harry knelt at the windowsill watching petrified as Harley slumped against the floor like a marionette cut off of its strings. An unfamiliar brunette stood above the unconscious body of the blonde in a defensive stance, a frying pan in his hand. 

Brown eyes looked right at him accessingly, the boy raised his frying pan again and Harry raised his hands quickly in the universal sign of surrender. 

“Don’t hit me!” He squeaked, eyes screwed shut as he cringed away.

The silence was deafening and Harry’s heart beat accelerated. His hand twitched from where they were raised nervously. The wind howled behind him and snagged the back of his shirt lightly. 

Why had they thought this was a good idea? 

Of course they just had to go and climb a tower in the middle of nowhere didn’t they? 

The boy didn’t look threatening, not with those doe eyes, but he had learned not to judge a book by its cover. The boy may as well be some secret agent hired by the palace, or some other thug who had heard of their steal had come to steal it from them. 

“Okay,” a smooth voice uttered cautiously, and Harry blinked his eyes open. “Step inside.”

The boy with the pretty eyes was still glaring at him suspiciously and-

_ Is that a chameleon? _

Harry blinked incredulously and opened his lips to ask the question out aloud.

“I said, step inside,” the boy grounded out. If glares could kill, Harry would have been ashes in the wind.

The chameleon glared at him too, it’s skin a fiery orange colour to match its fury. 

“Okay okay,” Harry nodded hastily and slipped inside. 

The brunette did not soften his glare, nor did he lower the frying pan?

The chameleon on his shoulder flared red when Harry took a step forward the unconscious body on the ground.

“Stop,” the brunette (who was bloody beautiful - his mind supplied) nodded towards a chair. “Sit.”

What was there for Harry to do other than concede? It was such a rookie mistake but they had gotten caught. This certainly classified as a sucky situation. 

“Johnny, watch the suspicious looking person,” the boy lowered the flaming red chameleon - Johnny - from his shoulder and set him before Harry. 

“You could’ve just said  _ watch him _ ,” Harry mumbled, still stung about getting caught. 

“I would have,” the voice sounded from behind him and suddenly his vision was obscured by a piece of dark cloth. Harry visibly stiffened as fingers brushed against his ears as the brunette tightened the blindfold before sliding down to tie his hands. “But I don’t know your pronouns, suspicious person.”

Surprise bloomed inside Harry, and he had to bite down on his lip to stop himself from exclaiming his wonder. It was really considerate of the doe-eyed beauty and he told the brunette that - minus the part about him being a beauty, he really didn’t think the brunette would appreciate it.

“Well, don’t people do that out there?” 

Harry started as he felt his chair being dragged from behind. 

“They do,” Harry hurried to assure. “But it's hard for many to not immediately assume, so it’s a tad surprising.”

A hum was the only response he received before he was pushed harshly in some kind of narrow space.

“Well that’s very courteous of you,” he snarked and pulled at the ropes but they remained tight around his wrists.

“It was very courteous of you breaking into our house too,” the voice sniped back before something heavy was dropped on his feet and a door slammed in his face.

As a slight groan came from near his feet, Harry realized with a jolt that it was Harley. 

He wondered whether Harley was bound as well. He aimed a kick at where he presumed wasn’t the blonde’s head. 

“Ow!” 

“Oh, good you’re alive.”

“Of course I am alive!”

“Didn’t seem like that when you got knocked out with a frying pan.”

“I-  _ what?” _

“A frying pan, cher.”

“Can you both keep quiet?” The doe eyes’s muffled voice came through the closed doors. “Or do I need to get the frying pan again?”

“ _ What?” _

Harry sighed, giving his idiot of a friend another nudge.

“Nope, there is no need for that, chéri,” he pressed his foot down harder against what he assumed (hoped) were the blonde’s ribs. “We both use he-him pronouns.”

There was momentary silence in which he could feel Harley’s burning gaze on him as they awaited a reply.

“Okay,” a pause. “Same for me.”

A smile curled at the strawberry blonde’s lips at the awkwardness the boy exhibited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cher — Dear
> 
> Chéri — Darling


	4. Scene 4 (Fuck Norman Osborn)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi

Peter gnawed at his lip nervously as he paced across the room.

Johnny flared blue and nudged at his cheek lightly. A distressed chuckle left the brunette’s lips and he brushed his fingers against Johnny, fondness for his chameleon -  _ his friend - _ welling up inside him.

“It’s going to be alright, Johnny, you’ll see,” he tried to assure his friend, yet the uncertainty lingering in his voice told stories. “Father will agree once he sees how capable I am. We can go see the world! We can see the lights!”

Johnny turned green and blinked at Peter, somehow conveying his extreme disbelief about the notion that Norman Osborn would even entertain the idea. 

“C’mon Johnny. Don’t be like that,” the brunette huffed, turning around to look at his inventions with a downcast look as if he was… miserable. 

Countless equipment lined the wall, all for some scientific purpose. Contraptions and chemical compounds filled his room. Books of every kind lined his shelves. His ceiling was painted of the lights - of the world he never knew.

A world he now had the chance to know.

“Peter?” The deep and dark voice of Father reached Peter’s ears and he paused. “Let your contraption down.” 

Johnny, on his shoulder, blinked at him worriedly and Peter made his way towards the contraption he had built for Father to enter the tower with anxiousness rolling in his stomach.

Shooting one more glance at the closed cupboard, he pulled down the lever to lower the mechanical stairs.

~

  
  


“IT’S OUT OF THE QUESTION! You have no other life out of here and it  _ will _ remain that way.” 

Peter stumbled back, heart racing and shock tearing through his veins.

The cold and dark eyes of Norman Osborn stared at him angrily and Peter couldn’t conjure up the courage to rebut Father’s statement.

Father had never raised his voice at him.  _ Never.  _ The pure anger that engulfed Father the second he had even wondered about the outside world sent Peter reeling. More than that, the slight gleam in Father’s eyes when Peter stumbled back that he had caught ratcheted the brewing anxiety up a notch. 

Johnny’s reptilian feet curled around Peter’s shoulder protectively even when his skin turned purple with fear.

“Now,” Father took a deep breath and relaxed visibly as if the moments before didn't happen at all. “I hope that you won’t ever bring up this subject again.”

“I was,” Peter stuttered and frowned, as if he was confused. “I was just going to say that I had a new idea on what my birthday present could be…”

When Norman Osborn’s disappointed look morphed into an interested one, Peter knew it had worked.

Growing up as Norman Osborn’s son meant that he  _ had  _ to learn how to be sneaky, cunning and clever. He didn’t think he’d have gotten his equipment, paints, books and  _ Johnny _ if he had never learnt to hide his heart. 

“Oh?”

“I need some metal,” Peter said carefully, knowing that one wrong word could set off Father. “Titanium Alloy? You bought them once and they were a dream to work with.”

“That’s a three day trip Peter,” Father’s face peered at him with disapproval. 

“I just thought it's a better idea than seeing the stars,” Peter looked down and scuffed his foot as if abashed. He held his breath and waited for Norman to crack, he  _ had _ to. Especially if Peter venturing out was a big deal. 

“You’ll behave?”

“Yes, father,” Peter nodded quickly. 

“Alright, be safe son,” Norman nodded and stepped towards the ladder contraption with his hood and bag. 

“I know I’m safe as long as i’m here, father.”

When the red head of Norman reached the ground and began to walk away from the tower, Peter retracted the ladder, his face set with determination.

~

Harry frowned when the sound of muffled yelling reached inside the cupboard. It seemed like the brunette was arguing with someone. 

“What’s happening?” Harley whispered and Harry caught the trepidation in his voice. 

“I don’t know,” Harry whispered back softly and strained to hear better.

“IT’S OUT OF THE QUESTION-” 

Harry started, years old fear crawled up his spine irrationally. 

_ It can’t be… _

The voices outside lowered to a murmur once more leaving Harry to clench and unclench his hand nervously. 

_ It can’t be. _


	5. Scene 5 (The Bargain -sort of)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Lira169 for being a brilliant beta!

“Ouch,” Harley groaned as he was dragged out of the cupboard. His wrists hurt from being tied up and he couldn’t see anything. 

His head still hurt from where he had been hit by the frying pan ( _ a freaking frying pan! _ ) and he suspected there’s going to be a bump. 

_ Such a rookie mistake, _ he wailed inwardly. He had been taken down by a  _ rookie mistake. _ He bet Gwen Stacy would be laughing in his face if they knew. 

Harley felt a chair being scraped against the floor, the sound growing closer until it stopped, as if it was placed next to him

“Why does  _ he  _ get a chair?” he mumbled trying to arrange his limbs into a more comfortable position.

“ _ I  _ didn’t crawl through a window without checking whether someone was in and got knocked out by a frying pan,” the dry tone of his friend came and Harley scowled. 

“Shut up.”

“Nope.”

“Alright, both of you,” a voice - their captor’s voice - said and Harley paused, hearing the hint of amusement in it. “I’m going to take off your blindfolds.”

There was a shuffle and Harley heard the boy walk towards Harry. A few moments later, Harry sighed in relief and Harley relaxed. Harry was okay. 

Fingers brushed against the back of his head and slowly untied the knot. The blonde waited eagerly to see who exactly thought it’d be a good idea to live in a deserted tower and had chosen a frying pan as their weapon. 

The sharp contrast of light blinded him and he blinked his eyes rapidly. They were facing the window and a slight breeze brushed against his face.

“Wha…” Harley trailed off, lips ajar. 

A brunette walked into his vision, head tilted and shoulders set straight. His lips were pursed and Harley swallowed as brown eyes analyzed them critically. 

He was  _ bloody  _ gorgeous.

“Oh fuck.”

Beside him Harry let out a bark of laughter and Harley knew instinctively that the grey-eyed boy had figured out what was running through his mind. 

“Stop it,” Harley shot his partner a look and hissed. 

A teasing smirk stretched Harry’s lips and Harley looked away fuming, he wouldn't be surprised if smoke poured out of his ears.

“Alright,” the brunette dragged the word on with a bemused look on his face. “Why are you here?”

_ The crown… _

Harley shared a glance with his partner. Of course, Harry had noticed it too. Their satchel was missing. 

“Um,” Harley began, eyes flitting around the room in search of their satchel.

“Hey,” the brunette snapped and clapped his hands to gain the partners’ attention. “Look at me.”

“Yes, darlin?”

And there goes the plan to remain professional. Yay for Harley. He was on a roll here. Ten out of ten at being a dumbass. What the fuck.

“I’m kinda jealous here,” Harry,  _ the bane of his fucking life,  _ blinked at him innocently. “You’ve never called  _ me  _ darling.”

“Well you’ve never called  _ me  _ darlin,” Harley sniped, satisfaction purring in his chest like a cat when a blush spread over Harry’s cheeks. “But you call him that.”

Harley smirked and waited while his partner opened and closed his lips multiple times. 

“Are you both done?” The dry tone of their captor said and Harley snapped his head away from his friend to look at the brunette. 

“Not really, chéri,” Harry smirked lazily and Harley watched with disbelief as a pink blush spread down the brunette’s neck. 

“What,” he mouthed incredulously. 

“Okay, shut up,” the brunette scowled but Harley was already distracted.

“Is that a chameleon?” 

“Are you kidding me?” The brunette’s nose scrunched up adorably in frustration and his eyes narrowed into a glare. “Yes, his name’s Johnny. Can we move on? I’m starting to think that you aren’t here for my blood.”

A pause. 

“Um,” Harley tilted his head, confusion blooming. “Why… Why would we be here for your blood? We just came here for shelter?”

“Correction,” frowned the brunette and the chameleon on his shoulder turned orange. The boy walked over to a table and snatched up a piece of paper. He brandished it before his face and immediately a groan of frustration left Harley’s lips. “You came here to hide.”

“ _ They never get my nose right! _ ” Harley cried, he heard his partner sigh but  _ there were more important things to worry about.  _ “Why do they  _ never _ get my nose right?”

“Please kill me,” Harry begged the beautiful brunette. “ _ Please. _ ”

“Do you two not want to be free?” Doe eyes seemed frustrated with them,  _ which was a good thing _ . It raised their chances of freedom. It also raised their chances of a certain doom, which wasn’t really appealing.

“I mean I’ve a pretty nice view,” Harry shrugged and his grey eyes glinted devilishly as he kept them focused on the brunette. 

“Have to agree with him,” Harley nodded adopting a smirk. “I do have a nice view.”

The chameleon was not impressed, even though they managed to get another blush out of the brunette and flicked him on the forehead with its tongue.

“ _ Ow.” _

“Don’t mess with your boy,” Harry muttered nodding. “Got it.”

“Right,” the brunette took a deep breath and turned the sincere force of his gaze on them. “I need you to get me out of here.”


	6. Scene 6 (Repair Boy’s Wet Dream)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y’all like it!

“So how do we get down?” Harley wondered out loud, stretching his back. Damn the brunette was strong. 

“Um,” there was a flicker of hesitation in the brown eyes that made Harley pause in his movements.

“Chéri?” Harry prodded, a look of curiosity blooming in his molten grey eyes that Harley adored.

“Yeah,” the brunette laughed nervously, sharing a look with his chameleon.

Harley stepped forward to peer down the window. The rope they had used had long since lost its grip, there was no visible way down. They would need to build some sort of ladder or maybe they could use all of the curtains hanging around to make a rope. 

“Is there no way down?” Harry questioned, his furrowed brows casting shadows over his eyes. 

Harley let his eyes wander, intrigue nagging him like a trigger happy ostrich. What could the brunette have that would work as a makeshift ladder?

“Oh,” the barest of sound left his lips and he stared in amazement. 

“What?” The brunette blinked at him with those drowning brown pools.

“Darlin’,” Harley breathed out in awe. “Did you build all these?”

The machinery lining the walls were unlike any he had seen before and he had seen many, being a thief and a mechanic. 

“Er, yes.”

“Amazing,” a lightheaded chuckle left Harley and he inched towards the contraptions. His eyes took in all the detail like a fish finding water after being on dry land.

Distantly he heard the brunette talk to his partner.

“Why is he reacting like this?”

“Oh chéri, this is practically Repair Boy’s wet dream.”

“Oh.”

Harley started out of ministration as a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

“C’mon mate,” Harry smiled, his eyes soft and lips curled into a small smile. “We need to get going.”

“Alright,” the blonde sighed and stepped to the window. “How are we going down?”

“Well,” Peter began and Harley spied an amused smile pulling the brunette’s lips. “I do have something for that.”

“Oh no way,” his mouth hung open as the brunette pulled a lever (a lever he hadn’t noticed, seriously he was way off his game today) from underneath the window sill and something shuddered and extended outside.

“Brilliant.”

Harley was awed.

He was so impressed.

Wow.

He glanced over his shoulder to express his thoughts, but stopped upon seeing the brunette's flaming red face and the doubtfulness that his eyes expressed.

“Darlin,” he called, hoping that he wasn’t crossing any lines. “What’s the matter?”

“Oh, er, it’s nothing,” the brunette ducked his head and the chameleon on his shoulder turned blue. 

“You sure?” Harry asked and Harley could see in his very posture that he was worried. 

“Yep,” the brunette nodded fervently. 

“Alright…”

Maybe that was good too. He wasn’t supposed to care for the brunette, was he? They had made a bargain and then they were going their separate ways. 

“Well actually, father doesn’t approve of these.”

… there went his plan. Again.

“What do you mean?” Harley arched an eyebrow and observed the brunette.

What person didn’t appreciate this kind of skill? It was talent. It needed creativity and the patience to see the plans through. It needed the fire that burned inside one’s chest and consumed their soul to create.

“He thinks that these are just a waste of time,” the brunette shrugged and Harley hated that he looked so downcast and so freaking resigned. “It’s nothing.”

He pushed past Harley and climbed onto the window sill. The chameleon on his shoulder curled into the brunette’s pocket, turning purple. 

“Coming?”

Harry and Harley shared a worried look that revealed more than they wanted to.


	7. Scene 8 (He Grows On You!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! Hope y’all enjoy!

“Oh my god,” a gasp filled with wonder and childlike excitement left Peter’s lips. His brown eyes took in the butterfly that was gently fluttering over their heads. “A  _ butterfly! _ ”

He raised his hand slowly and held out a finger, holding his breath and  _ hoping  _ to feel the butterfly land on it even if it was for a second.

Blue wings patterned with a splatter of black and white beat over his hand curiously for a few moments before deciding that Peter was harmless and landing on his finger.

A squeal lodged itself in his throat and the brunette forced it down in order to not startle the little insect. 

Its wings beat twice slowly before it took to the air again.

The outside world wasn’t so bad.

He loved it.

Johnny sat on his shoulder eyeing the two boys walking behind him suspiciously. 

  
  


~

  
  


“He’s cute,” Harry muttered from where he was leaning over a huge tree trunk. His grey eyes traced the brunette’s form as he explored the world he had dreamt of but hadn’t seen before.

Harley glanced at him, his azure eyes somehow conveying both incredulousness and deadpan.

“What?” Harry shrugged, the corners of his lips twitching. “He grows on you!”

The blonde huffed and turned his face away from his silver tongued partner to seek the brunette. A smirk grew on his face as the brunette - Peter - splashed water at his chameleon - who was apparently named Johnny - with a sweet laugh that made Harley’s heart breathe twice as fast.

“He sure does.”

~

  
  


“What’s wrong, darlin?” Harley asked, eyebrows scrunched in bewilderment. 

They had been crossing through the woods, Peter had been quite expressive about his excitement, a slew of words flowing through his lips like the never emptying  _ Atchya Pathra _ . Then they had stopped to rest for sometime and Harry decided to refill their water in that time. 

Harley had climbed a tree to lookout for any danger that might be coming their way (in other words: palace guards and that goddamn horse). He didn’t expect the stream of rambling to stop but then it did. 

Harley glanced down at the boy, worry niggling him despite his constant attempt to remain unattached. The brunette was slumped against the two large roots of the tree Harley was sitting on. The blonde couldn’t make out the doe-eyed boy’s face but the blue shaded chameleon on his shoulder told him what he needed to know.

It shouldn’t matter to him that the brunette was sad, should it? 

This wasn’t anything more than a bargain,  _ he shouldn’t feel like this.  _

Yet, there was something so alluring about him - something so  _ familiar _ about him that he had only felt once before. He had felt the same when he had met Harry. Felt the overwhelming need to  _ be there  _ \- to  _ protect. _

He was going to comfort the boy, wasn’t he?

“Hey,” he called out softly and took a moment to marvel at how tender he sounded. His legs found themselves on the moss covered trunk and he stepped off onto the ground. “You okay?”

Brown eyes flashed up at him and Harley saw the brief glimpse of surprise in them before they faded. 

“I am?” 

“Is that an answer or a question?” Harley teased, folding his legs under him as he settled next to the brunette. 

A huff, so quiet like the drop of a leaf, slipped out of Peter’s lips and he chuckled. 

He chuckled with bitterness.

He chuckled with overwhelming confusion.

He chuckled because he didn’t know what he was feeling.

Was it hurt?

Was it betrayal?

Was it… freedom? 

“I don’t know,” he sighed at last. “I feel confused. So confused.”

“About?” 

“I don’t know,” the brunette shrugged. Johnny nudged his cheek, his wide eyes looking at Peter imploringly. 

“It’s okay Johnny,” murmured the genius and rubbed his thumb along the chameleon’s body fondly. “I’m okay.”

“You don’t look fine, darlin’,” Harley, the familiar swirl of dread bubbling in the depths of his stomach. The situation was all too familiar. 

The tired smile the brunette shot him just cemented the fact that something was really wrong. In the few hours he had spent with the boy, Harley had quickly learned to realize that the brunette was an overall energetic sass machine who was too kind for the world.

“I feel horrible for going against Father,” the way he said father didn’t sit right with Harley at all. He knew what having a terrible father was like, and the more Peter talked the more he saw the similarities. 

“But at the same time he was… he-” the brunette cut off, eyes downcast and fingers curling around his knees protectively.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to darlin,” Harley wasn’t sure what took over him but he gently placed his hand around the brunette’s shoulder. “It’s fine.”

Harley hadn’t expected the brunette to drop his head against his shoulder, nor did he expect the chameleon to jump off Peter’s shoulder instead of flaring red and glaring at him. 

A soft puff of hot breath touched Harley’s neck and he noticed how the brunette relaxed. That moment, something tender bloomed in his chest and he -even though he knew he shouldn’t- pushed down years of survival instincts to wrap his arm around the brunette more firmly. 

To hold him close.

To ground him.

And when Harry came back with water and a bemused look on his face, all Harley did was smile softly. 


	8. Scene 8 (Harley is scared)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter?

“Are you hungry?” Harley questioned the others, flitting his eyes between his partner and the brunette. “I know a great place nearby.”

“Oh?” Peter perked up visibly, not because of the mention of food (though that wasn’t undesirable) but because  _ people _ ! He would get to see people.

“Yeah,” Harry answered for Harley, his tone indicating nothing wrong even as he narrowed his eyes at his partner. “The Snuggly Duckling.”

“That’s a cute name,” the brunette commented softly and then giggled as Johnny tugged his ear with his mouth. “Yes Johnny, we’re getting food for you as well.”

The chameleon, satisfied with the promise settled down on his usual place to continue his duty as watchguard. His eyes continued to monitor both Harry and Harley, though it was less fierce than before.

Harry slowed his pace and hung back waiting for Harley to do as well. When the blonde matched Harry’s pace with the brunette walking a few footsteps before them, he turned to glare at his friend.

“What are you planning Harley?” He hissed lowly. “The Snuggly Duckling? What are you trying to do? Scare him off?”

When the blonde didn’t respond and kept his gaze down to the ground, guilt filtering through his blue eyes, all air left Harry’s lungs.

“ _ Harley.” _

“What?” The blonde snapped back, his voice a whisper as he tried to not gain the brunette’s attention. “What do you want me to say? We’re getting too attached, Harry.”

And Harry understood. He understood what this was all about. Harley was scared.

“And is that such a bad thing?” Harry asked gently, the creases near his eyes softening and his grey eyes conveying so much warmth that Harley felt like he was a piece of chocolate created for the sole purpose to melt. 

“I don’t know,” the blonde looked away, a thick lump forming in his throat. “I’m scared.”

“I know,” Harry grazed his hand gently against Harley’s, a silent sign of comfort. “You’re scared because you like him-”

“Yeah, like  _ you _ don’t.”

A sigh of exasperation left the strawberry blonde’s lips and he let his eyes flicker to the brunette walking before them.

“Yeah, I do, but scaring him off isn’t going to answer any of our problems.”

“He wants to be back at the tower in three days, Har,” Harley muttered desolately and intertwined his fingers with Harry’s without giving any thought to it. 

Somewhere nearby, a crow cawed and a few seconds later a few others responded. The wind brushed passed them, rustling their hair and whipping past their ears. 

Turning his palm Harry encompassed Harley’s hand with his own, letting the roughness of his hand brush against his skin, letting the mechanic curl his fingers as he always did. 

“I heard him there.”

“What?” The blonde whipped up, confusion marring his features. 

“Norman,” Harry elaborated grimly. “I heard his voice.”


	9. Scene 9 (Thanks For Noticing)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un, it’s very very short so sorry!

Harry stared ahead, mind still working against time frantically to figure out a reasonable theory, yet none seemed to come.

“Do you think Norman remarried?” Harley wondered, his voice a whisper, prodding Harry to reveal his thoughts.

“No,” Harry shook his head firmly. “He wouldn’t have, he only married mom out of pressure. After she died, I ran away-”

“And met me.”

Harry sucked in his lower lip and ducked his head with his lips quirking into a smile. 

“And I met this idiot,” Harry continued dodging Harley’s elbow. “And look at him, does he look like an Osborn?”

Harry let his eyes linger on the brunette who was pointing out things to Johnny with the excitement of a six year old while scratching the chameleon gently.

“Mm, I don’t know about that,” Harley hummed. “I know an Osborn who’s quite pretty.”

“Uh huh?” 

“Mm.”

Harry snorted and attempted to pull his hand away, a beautiful red flush covering the tips of his ears. His heart skipped a beat even as he chastised it because Harley didn’t like him that way. 

What? 

Why was his hand not free?

Harry raised an eyebrow and shot his friend a questioning look.

~

Harley wondered how his partner could be so brilliant and yet be such an idiot? 

Was this some sort of karma? That he should be destined to  ~~ love ~~ like two of the most oblivious people in the galaxy.

Harley ignored the questioning glance and raised their clasped hands. His lips twitched as Harry’s mercury eyes widened in realisation, and he gently pressed his lips against the back of Harry’s hand.

The hitch in the silver-tongue’s breath was unmistakable and a wicked grin tugged at Harley’s lips as he peered at the other from underneath his lashes. 

“You’re such a flirt.”

“Been doing that for a few years now, thank you for finally noticing.” 


End file.
